With prices rising steadily across the board and the federal election coming up in May 3, inflation has been a hot topic, especially since Trump unveiled his extensive tariffs, throwing the world economy into uncertainty.
According to REA Group Market Insight’s figures, Brisbane’s rent rose 3.2% just in the March quarter — and 8.3% overall throughout the year, hitting a shocking $650 per week. Those renting apartments took a bigger hit than house renters this past year, but the whole region has been affected, especially as undersupply worsens prices, with a 39% shortfall in Queensland last year, the second worst in the country, behind Western Australia.
There are concerns that the undersupply may not be adequately addressed, in part because of the labour force required to build the new stadium for the 2032 Olympics. Worryingly, regional Queensland’s median rent is about the same as that of Brisbane, which is not typically what we expect. This may be due many of Queensland’s regional cities having relatively large economies and many desirable traits that residents usually seek in bigger cities. Unfortunately, this also means that Queensland’s population growth has outpaced housing supply.
It’s not just a rise in rent prices that poses a problem, but the face that incomes have not kept up with them. In fact, regional rents in Queensland have risen over three times faster than incomes since 2020. Both major parties have made proposals to ostensibly ease the crisis by making it easier to buy homes. The Coalition is proposing making interest payments on mortgages taken out by first home buyers who purchase newly built houses or apartments tax-deductible for the first five years.
Labor, on the other hand, has promised to extend its deposit guarantee scheme, allowing all first home buyers to buy a first home with a deposit of 5%, by guaranteeing the remaining 15% of a mortgage normally covered by a deposit, and thus avoid having to take out lenders’ mortgage insurance. They have also proposed investing $10bn in grants to speed up the construction of homes, with the aim of building an additional 100,000 homes over eight years.